Process of separating ore.



No. 861,782. PATBNTED JULY so, 1907.

H. H. WAIT. PRocEss 0F SBPARATING ORE.

APPLICATION IILBD HAE. 20, 1805.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

BATENTED JULY 30, 1907..

H. H. WAIT.

PROCESS 0F SEPARATINGORE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAB.. 20, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vUNITED STATES PATENT ermee.

COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

y P Roenss oF SEPARA'r-ING oms.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Applioationliled March 20,1905. Serial No. 251,076.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY H. WAIT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Separating Ore, ofpwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description. My invention relates to a process of separating ores, with special reference to mixtures of materials which are so nearly alike in magnetic permeability, or of such low permeability that they cannot be commercially separated by an ordinary magnetic separator.

In accordance with my invention, I take advantage of differences in the physical or chemical characteristics of the ingredients, to render one or more of them susceptible of magnetic attraction and separation from the others. This can be done in many cases by treating the mixture with a substance which will change the magl netic characteristics of certain of the particles in the mixture without to the same extent effecting the others, so producing an artificial difference in permeability.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view half in elevation and half in section of a magnetic separator which may be used in carrying out my process; and Fig. 2' is a sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of a mixing and dryingapparatus which may be used for impregnating the ore and subsequently drying the same.

The separator consists in its elements of a laminated armature c, having teeth upon its periphery, arranged to rotate between two opposing magnet poles N, S, of opposite polarity. Means are provided, as shown,.for feeding the material to the top of the rotating cylinder which carries it around past 'one of the pole pieces, N. The more magnetic particles are thus attracted to the teeth of the cylinder and .held in the rotation thereof until they have been carried beyond the path of the non-magnetic materials which fall straight down over the side of the cylinder. A .divider p is shown in position to separate the two classes of materials.`

The mixer consistsV of a vessel A on the interior of which are suitably mounted agitating blades a. The mixture is placed in the vessel A and the solution with which it\is to be impregnated poured upon it. After being thoroughly stirred up by the blades o, the mixture is passed through the yopening a into a vessel B which may be heated in any suitable manner, as for example, by steam admitted through the pipe b into a, chamber B beneath the vessel B.

To return to a description of my improved process, which is not dependent upon any particular type of f machine, the mixture of materials to be separated can be treated with a solution which will coat the particles of one class of material, such as oxid of iron, formed either by chemical combination with the particle itself, or by physical adhesionthereto. The particles having sucha deposit of magnetic material upon their surface may then be removed from the mixture by magnetic attraction. Togive a specific illustration, a mixture of molybdenite and mica cannot be completely separated in an ordinary magnetic separator, 'but the mica differs widely from the molybdenite in its physical characteristics, notably in that it is more porous. I have found that a separation of such mixture can be effected as i follows: The mixture, having been reduced to a finelydivided state, such for instance as would pass through a sieve of quarter-inch mesh, is treated with a solution of an iron salt such as iron sulfate, and then heated or exposed to atmospheric conditions. The mica being porous in its nature, receives and retains upon its surface' and in its crevices a deposit of magnetically permeable iron zoxid, and so is given in eect, a magnetic character which renders it susceptible of magnetic attraction and separation from the molybdenite, which is not so affected. t

It is evident that the treatment in each case must be adapted to the particular ingredients in question to cause what may be termed an artificial working difference in permeability; and thenature of the treatment to be given can readily be determined by one skilled in the art.

After such treatment,l it simply remains to subject the mixture to the action of a sufficiently intense magnetic vfield of force, in a well-known' type of magnetic separator, to remove the more permeable particles. Thus, by reference tothe magnetic separater shown in the drawing, the mixture is placed in the hopper f, and slowly fed upon the rotating cylinder c, which is lmagnetized by induction from pole pieces N and S. The non-magnetic material passing over the cylinder is unaected thereby, and falls straight down, 90 While the material which has been artificially rendered susceptible is attracted by the teeth on the surface, of i the cylinder, and carried thereby past the edge of the divider-'plate p, thus effecting a separation.

1. The herein described process of separating ores hav ing different degrees of porosity from a mixture, which consists in impregnating the mixture with a solution of :in

iron salt, subjecting the same to an oxidizing agency to fol-in a magnetically permeable oxd upon the more porous material, whereby its particles are rendered susceptible of magnetic attraction, and then passing the mixture through 4:1 magnetic separator to remove the particles which' are thus artificially rendered susceptible.

2. The 'herein described process ofseparating mica from molybdenitev which consists in impregnating the mixture of such ores with a solution of an iron salt, exposing the limpregnnted ore to the air and finally subjecting the mix- 1Q 

